web01.fireside.fm Fri, 01 May 2026 05:28:59 -0500 Fireside (https://fireside.fm) Increments - Episodes Tagged with “Information” https://www.incrementspodcast.com/tags/information Fri, 20 Jun 2025 10:15:00 -0700 Vaden Masrani, a senior research scientist in machine learning, and Ben Chugg, a PhD student in statistics, get into trouble arguing about everything except machine learning and statistics. Coherence is somewhere on the horizon. Bribes, suggestions, love-mail and hate-mail all welcome at incrementspodcast@gmail.com. en-us episodic Science, Philosophy, Epistemology, Mayhem Ben Chugg and Vaden Masrani Vaden Masrani, a senior research scientist in machine learning, and Ben Chugg, a PhD student in statistics, get into trouble arguing about everything except machine learning and statistics. Coherence is somewhere on the horizon. Bribes, suggestions, love-mail and hate-mail all welcome at incrementspodcast@gmail.com. no Philosophy,Science,Ethics,Progress,Knowledge,Computer Science,Conversation,Error-Correction Ben Chugg and Vaden Masrani incrementspodcast@gmail.com #87 - Gullibility, Belief, and Conformity (with Hugo Mercier) https://www.incrementspodcast.com/87 d20165d0-2913-4a2f-808e-c03ce3d9d906 Fri, 20 Jun 2025 10:15:00 -0700 Ben Chugg and Vaden Masrani full Ben Chugg and Vaden Masrani Hugo Mercier joins us to discuss his book "Not Born Yesterday" and his work on belief, gullibility, and how we change our minds. 54:13 no Ben and Vaden test their French skills and have Hugo Mercier on the podcast to discuss who we trust and what we believe. Are humans gullible? Do we fall for propaganda and advertising campaigns? Do we follow expert consensus or forge ahead as independent thinkers? Can Vaden go for one episode without bringing up Trump? Hugo Mercier (https://sites.google.com/site/hugomercier/) is a research director at the CNRS (Institut Jean Nicod, Paris), where he work with the Evolution and Social Cognition team. Check out his two books: The Enigma of Reason (https://www.amazon.com/Enigma-Reason-Hugo-Mercier/dp/0674368304) and Not Born Yesterday (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0691208921) . We discuss Mercier's thoughts on the cognitive bias literature Open vigilance mechanisms Criticism of the System 1 vs System 2 dichotomy Why Kahneman misinterpreted the bat and the ball thought experiment Do flat earthers really believe the earth is flat? The Asch conformity experiment Preference falsification vs internalization of professed beliefs How important is social signaling? Trump, MAGA, gullibility, and Tariffs How effective are advertisements? How effective is propaganda? Is social science reforming? References The Enigma of Reason (https://www.amazon.com/Enigma-Reason-Hugo-Mercier/dp/0674368304) by Hugo Mercier and Dan Sperber Not Born Yesterday (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0691208921) Our previous episodes on Not Born Yesterday (https://www.incrementspodcast.com/84) and The Enigma of Reason (https://www.incrementspodcast.com/39) Socials Follow us on Twitter at @hugoreasoning, @IncrementsPod, @BennyChugg, @VadenMasrani Come join our discord server! DM us on twitter or send us an email to get a supersecret link Become a patreon subscriber here (https://www.patreon.com/Increments). Or give us one-time cash donations to help cover our lack of cash donations here (https://ko-fi.com/increments). Click dem like buttons on youtube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_4wZzQyoW4s4ZuE4FY9DQQ) How much system 2 thinking does it take to misunderstand system 1 vs system 2? Tell us at incrementspodcast@gmail.com Special Guest: Hugo Mercier. reason, rationality, belief, information, communication, trust Ben and Vaden test their French skills and have Hugo Mercier on the podcast to discuss who we trust and what we believe. Are humans gullible? Do we fall for propaganda and advertising campaigns? Do we follow expert consensus or forge ahead as independent thinkers? Can Vaden go for one episode without bringing up Trump?

Hugo Mercier is a research director at the CNRS (Institut Jean Nicod, Paris), where he work with the Evolution and Social Cognition team. Check out his two books: The Enigma of Reason and Not Born Yesterday .

We discuss

  • Mercier's thoughts on the cognitive bias literature
  • Open vigilance mechanisms
  • Criticism of the System 1 vs System 2 dichotomy
  • Why Kahneman misinterpreted the bat and the ball thought experiment
  • Do flat earthers really believe the earth is flat?
  • The Asch conformity experiment
  • Preference falsification vs internalization of professed beliefs
  • How important is social signaling?
  • Trump, MAGA, gullibility, and Tariffs
  • How effective are advertisements?
  • How effective is propaganda?
  • Is social science reforming?

References

Socials

  • Follow us on Twitter at @hugoreasoning, @IncrementsPod, @BennyChugg, @VadenMasrani
  • Come join our discord server! DM us on twitter or send us an email to get a supersecret link
  • Become a patreon subscriber here. Or give us one-time cash donations to help cover our lack of cash donations here.
  • Click dem like buttons on youtube

How much system 2 thinking does it take to misunderstand system 1 vs system 2? Tell us at incrementspodcast@gmail.com

Special Guest: Hugo Mercier.

Support Increments

]]> Ben and Vaden test their French skills and have Hugo Mercier on the podcast to discuss who we trust and what we believe. Are humans gullible? Do we fall for propaganda and advertising campaigns? Do we follow expert consensus or forge ahead as independent thinkers? Can Vaden go for one episode without bringing up Trump?

Hugo Mercier is a research director at the CNRS (Institut Jean Nicod, Paris), where he work with the Evolution and Social Cognition team. Check out his two books: The Enigma of Reason and Not Born Yesterday .

We discuss

  • Mercier's thoughts on the cognitive bias literature
  • Open vigilance mechanisms
  • Criticism of the System 1 vs System 2 dichotomy
  • Why Kahneman misinterpreted the bat and the ball thought experiment
  • Do flat earthers really believe the earth is flat?
  • The Asch conformity experiment
  • Preference falsification vs internalization of professed beliefs
  • How important is social signaling?
  • Trump, MAGA, gullibility, and Tariffs
  • How effective are advertisements?
  • How effective is propaganda?
  • Is social science reforming?

References

Socials

  • Follow us on Twitter at @hugoreasoning, @IncrementsPod, @BennyChugg, @VadenMasrani
  • Come join our discord server! DM us on twitter or send us an email to get a supersecret link
  • Become a patreon subscriber here. Or give us one-time cash donations to help cover our lack of cash donations here.
  • Click dem like buttons on youtube

How much system 2 thinking does it take to misunderstand system 1 vs system 2? Tell us at incrementspodcast@gmail.com

Special Guest: Hugo Mercier.

Support Increments

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